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This well-established painting company has served the Philadelphia area for 20 years, providing interior and exterior painting services to residential and commercial customers. Its two decades of... Businesses Franchises Brokers Loading... Established Commercial and Painting Contractor Philadelphia, PA (Philadelphia County) Asking Price:$3,500,000 Cash Flow (SDE):$1,250,000 EBITDA:$1,000,000 Gross Revenue:$4,500,000 Established:2000 Established Commercial and Painting Contractor Business Description 20+ Years in Business This well-established painting company has served the Philadelphia area for 20 years, providing interior and exterior painting services to residential and commercial customers. Its two decades of operating history offer a prospective buyer a recognized local presence and an established foundation for continued growth. Services may include surface preparation, painting, staining, finishing, and related light repair work. The business is well suited for an owner-operator, an experienced industry professional, or an existing contractor seeking to expand its service area and customer base. Potential growth opportunities include increasing digital marketing, developing additional commercial accounts, expanding into surrounding counties, and adding complementary home-improvement or property-maintenance services. This is an attractive opportunity to acquire a long-standing service business in a large and active metropolitan market. Additional information will be provided to qualified buyers following execution of a confidentiality agreement. Ad#:2527899 Detailed Information Employees: 18 (8 Full-time, 10 Contractors) Growth & Expansion: 75% of Rev is in Philadelphia. Huge growth opportunity in untapped Montgomery and Bucks County Support & Training: Owner is willing to stay on full time Reason for Selling: Divestment Business Location Location: Philadelphia, PA Real Estate: Leased Rent: $2,000.00 Demographic Information for Philadelphia Area Household Income Population Age Population Trend Population by Race/Ethnicity BizBuySell EDGE Financial Benchmarks for Pennsylvania Painting and Finishing Businesses Gross Revenue Benchmarks Cash Flow (SDE) Benchmarks EBITDA Benchmarks BizBuySell EDGE Listing Statistics Saved This Listing Listing Last Updated Appeared in Search Listing Detail Views BizBuySell EDGE Know the True Market Value Before You Make an Offer Get valuation data to negotiate with confidence. Get a Valuation Report Business Listed By: Mark Boos Phone Number 908-227-2031 Voice only (no SMS) Ad#:2527899 The information in this listing has been provided by the business seller or representative stated above. BizBuySell has no stake in the sale of this business, has not independently verified any of the information about the business, and assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness. Read BizBuySell's Terms of Use before responding to any ad. Learn how to avoid scams. Contact Form Full Name* Enter a valid Full Name Phone Number Enter Phone Number Email Address* Enter Email Address Optional Message Yes, send me the Buyer Newsletter for popular businesses, tips, & email promotions. Show sellers you’re serious - learn about BizBuySell Edge for premium buyer tools & alerts Send Message By clicking the button, you agree to BizBuySell’s Terms of Use and Privacy Notice Business Listed By: Mark Boos Phone Number 908-227-2031 Your request has been sent. What Happens Next? is reviewing your details. A representative will reach out soon to discuss your options. Expect a response in 1-2 business days. 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Why we like it
- Earnings quality is strong for the trade. A $1.25M SDE on $4.5M revenue is a 27.8% margin, which sits well above typical painting contractor economics where labor eats most of the gross. That premium margin suggests either pricing power from the 20-year reputation or a lean cost structure, and either way it is worth understanding and defending in diligence.
- The moat is reputation and relationships built over two decades in a large, active metro. Commercial painting is a repeat-and-referral business where established accounts and reliable crews are hard for a new entrant to replicate. Twenty years of local presence gives the buyer a recognized name and an installed base to sell against.
- The service is genuinely recession-resilient. Commercial property owners and facilities still need maintenance painting to protect assets and meet lease/occupancy standards, and residential repaints are often deferred maintenance rather than pure discretion. This is not a boom-or-bust discretionary category.
- The operator advantage is a clean, obvious geographic expansion path. With 75% of revenue concentrated in Philadelphia and Montgomery and Bucks Counties described as untapped, an operator who adds sales capacity and crews can grow into adjacent suburbs without inventing a new business model. The seller staying on full time de-risks the transition.
How to improve it
- Split residential and commercial into distinct sales motions and P&Ls in the first 90 days. Commercial accounts are stickier and higher-margin, so quantify the current mix and build a dedicated commercial account-hunting effort targeting property managers and facilities teams. This clarifies where the durable cash flow actually comes from.
- Attack Montgomery and Bucks County directly with local SEO, Google LSAs, and a suburban salesperson. The listing itself flags these as untapped, and adjacent-county expansion needs no new capability, just marketing spend and crew capacity. Track cost per lead and close rate by county to prove the expansion pays.
- Reduce dependence on the 10 contractors by converting the best performers to W-2 or locking in preferred-crew agreements. Contractor-heavy labor models create scheduling risk and quality variability, and a buyer wants reliable capacity before pouring marketing dollars in. This protects the margin as volume grows.
- Install a CRM and formal estimating/job-costing system to move off the owner's head. A 20-year owner-run shop often has pricing intuition that walks out the door, so codify estimating standards and margin targets per job type. This is essential to scale beyond the founder.
- Add complementary property-maintenance services such as drywall repair, power washing, and light carpentry to raise revenue per account. The crews are already on site, so bolt-on services improve utilization and stickiness with commercial clients. Start with the two or three easiest upsells to existing accounts.
- Build a recurring maintenance-contract program for commercial clients tied to annual repaint and touch-up schedules. Converting one-off jobs into contracted recurring revenue smooths cash flow and increases enterprise value at exit. Even a modest attach rate meaningfully changes the buyer's risk profile.
Diligence notes
- Verify the 27.8% SDE margin and understand exactly what drives it. Painting contractors rarely clear this margin, so confirm whether it reflects owner labor add-backs, aggressive pricing, or understated contractor costs. Reconcile the $1.25M SDE and $1M EBITDA against tax returns and bank statements before trusting the 2.8x.
- Break down the residential versus commercial revenue mix and customer concentration. With 75% in Philadelphia, identify the top 10 accounts and what share of revenue and margin they represent. Losing one or two large commercial clients could materially change the cash flow.
- Scrutinize the contractor labor model and any worker-classification exposure. Ten of 18 workers are contractors, which raises questions about IRS/state misclassification risk and crew reliability. Confirm insurance, workers comp coverage, and whether key crews will stay post-close.
- Assess how dependent the business is on the owner for sales and estimating. The seller offering to stay full time is a positive, but understand what he personally controls: key relationships, bidding, and referral sources. Map a concrete transition plan and confirm his post-close commitment terms in writing.
- Confirm the lease terms and assignability at $2,000 per month. Cheap rent is a real edge, so verify remaining term, renewal options, and landlord consent to assignment. Also validate equipment, vehicles, and any deferred capex needs behind that low overhead.
Source
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